the Egyptian governors of Palestine. =Evidence of the Excavations.= Recent excavations in Palestine at the ancient border town of Lachish and at Gezer on the coast plain, at Taanach and Megeddo on the southwestern side of the Plain of Esdraelon, and at Jericho in the Jordan valley, have greatly enriched our knowledge of early Palestine, for a large majority of the inscriptions and archæological remains that have been discovered at these sites come from the pre-Hebrew period. Of these the ruins of Gezer have been most thoroughly excavated (under the direction of the Palestine Exploration Fund) and have yielded by far the most detailed and valuable results. The ancient town lay on the borders of Philistia, on the line between Judah and northern Israel. It was built on one of the foot-hills which extend out into the plain beyond the Valley of Ajalon.^{(61)} Thus, while it belonged to the hill country, it was almost entirely surrounded by the plain and open to all the influences which affected the Mediterranean coast cities. The original town rested on two hills, one on the east and the other on the west, and extended across the shallow intervening valley. Four or five distinct cities, built successively one upon another, have been unearthed. =The Oldest Inhabitants of Palestine.= The remains found in the lowest stratum of the mound of Gezer introduce us to the earliest inhabitants of Palestine. They probably belonged to the Neolithic Age and to a non-Semitic race. From the skeletons thus far discovered it is clear that they were short in stature, averaging between five feet four inches and five feet seven inches in height. Already they had begun to cultivate the ground and to make rude flint implements. They kept cows, pigs, sheep, and goats. In certain caves, coming from this or an earlier age, rude attempts to picture these animals have also been discovered. Their pottery was shaped by hand and decorated with red or white lines. Their ancient town was surrounded by an earthen wall, ten feet thick, faced on the inside and out with stone. Gezer was evidently selected as the site of an ancient city because about it are many caves, the original dwelling-places of these primitive people. They apparently worshipped underground deities, in connection with sacred caves. Outside the entrance to such a cave at Gezer are found eighty or more cuplike cavities sunk in the rock and probably used for purposes of sacrifice.